We have the preliminary numbers for this weekend's box office totals and it looks like Candyman is going to surge past the competition. Candyman is the newest psychological horror thriller from Nia DaCosta and producer Jordan Peele. Between Friday and Thursday previews, the movie has raked in $9.1 million and is expected to gross of $20.7 million dollars by the end of the weekend. Universal decided on an exclusively theatrical release in order to try and get as much box-office revenue as possible, despite a surge in Covid delta variant cases across the country.
Coming in second place is Free Guy starring Ryan Reynolds. It has now been officially dethroned from its number one spot after riding high for two weeks. If it lives up to predicted expectations, the $13 million gross earnings it brings in this weekend should put its total somewhere around $80 million in revenue so far. Free Guy is a Sci-Fi-esque comedy about an oblivious non-player character in a video game world who suddenly becomes aware of his existence and tries to protect his universe from being deleted by a greedy game developer.
The family-friendly kid hit Paw Patrol comes in at number three at the start of the weekend, earning another $6.5 million in theaters across the country. So far, the wholesome film has earned nearly $24 million over the past couple of weeks. It is followed by Disney's Jungle Cruise, staring Dwane "The Rock" Johnson and Emily Blunt, which adds another $4.7 million to the pot. This brings its total gross so far to just under $100 million. Dropping into fifth place (from its fourth place slot last week) is the very, very dark horror thriller Don't Breathe 2. This wild adventure about a blind war veteran will likely earn close to $25 million in total box office earnings before the weekend is out thanks to another $2.5 million in revenue from Friday.